Supercritical Water-Assisted Carbon Capture: Carbonic Ester Intermediate Reveals Novel CO Dissolution Mechanism

Supercritical Water-Assisted Carbon Capture: Carbonic Ester Intermediate Reveals Novel CO Dissolution MechanismA new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has made significant progress in understanding the complex reaction mechanism of carbon dioxide (CO) in supercritical water, offering new hope for developing more efficient carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. This groundbreaking research reveals the role of carbonic ester as a key reaction intermediate, providing a solid foundation for future CCS innovations

Supercritical Water-Assisted Carbon Capture: Carbonic Ester Intermediate Reveals Novel CO Dissolution Mechanism

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has made significant progress in understanding the complex reaction mechanism of carbon dioxide (CO) in supercritical water, offering new hope for developing more efficient carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. This groundbreaking research reveals the role of carbonic ester as a key reaction intermediate, providing a solid foundation for future CCS innovations.

The increasingly severe global climate change necessitates urgent action to reduce atmospheric CO concentrations. CCS technology, which involves capturing CO from industrial emission sources or the atmosphere and storing it safely, is considered a crucial strategy in addressing climate change. However, existing CCS technologies face numerous challenges, including low efficiency, high costs, and storage safety concerns. Therefore, the search for more efficient, economical, and safer carbon capture methods has been a major focus for scientists.

Supercritical water, water under specific high-temperature and high-pressure conditions (critical temperature 374.15C, critical pressure 22.06 MPa), possesses unique physicochemical properties, such as significantly enhanced solubility, making it a promising CO dissolution medium. However, the reaction mechanism of CO in supercritical water is extremely complex and has been a research challenge.

For a long time, researchers lacked a clear understanding of the reaction pathways of CO in supercritical water. Although it is known that supercritical water can dissolve large amounts of CO, the underlying mechanism remained elusive. This is mainly because many short-lived intermediates exist during the reaction, making them difficult to directly observe and identify. Among these, carbonic ester, an unstable intermediate, and its role in the reaction have long been overlooked due to its extremely low stability and rapid decomposition in aqueous solutions, making its study and analysis exceptionally challenging.

This latest research overcame this technical hurdle, successfully identifying and characterizing carbonic ester as a key intermediate in the reaction between CO and supercritical water. Using advanced experimental techniques and theoretical calculation methods, researchers thoroughly investigated the reaction pathways of CO in supercritical water, ultimately revealing the crucial role of carbonic ester in promoting CO dissolution.

The study found that the dissolution of CO in supercritical water is not a simple physical dissolution process but a complex chemical reaction. Carbonic ester, as a reaction intermediate, acts as a bridge between CO and water molecules, facilitating the dissolution and transformation of CO in supercritical water. This discovery provides a new perspective on understanding the reaction mechanism of CO in supercritical water and offers new avenues for developing novel carbon capture technologies.

The significance of this research lies not only in revealing the reaction mechanism of CO in supercritical water but also in providing a theoretical basis for developing more efficient carbon capture technologies. By gaining a deeper understanding of the role of carbonic ester in the reaction, researchers can design more effective catalysts and reactors to improve CO capture efficiency and reduce the cost of CCS technology.

Globally, efforts are underway to explore effective ways to address climate change. This research brings new hope to the field of carbon capture and storage, promising to drive further development and application of the technology and contribute to mitigating global warming. This research is not only of significant theoretical importance to the scientific community but also of significant practical application value to the engineering and technology fields, providing new directions for the future development of more environmentally friendly and economical carbon emission reduction technologies. Researchers suggest that based on this discovery, novel supercritical water-based carbon capture technologies could be developed in the future, providing more effective solutions for global climate change and contributing to the building of a low-carbon society. This breakthrough will drive continuous innovation in CCS technology and provide important technological support for achieving global climate goals. The success of this research also highlights the important role of international scientific cooperation in addressing global challenges.

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